Inhomogeneous Boundary Conditions Research Articles

Stabilisation of linear waves with inhomogeneous Neumann boundary conditions

ABSTRACT We study linear damped and viscoelastic wave equations evolving on a bounded domain. For both models, we assume that waves are subject to an inhomogeneous Neumann boundary condition on a portion of the domain's boundary. The analysis of these models presents additional interesting features and challenges compared to their homogeneous counterparts. In the present context, energy depends on the boundary trace of velocity. It is not clear in advance how this quantity should be controlled based on the given data, due to regularity issues. However, we establish global existence and also prove uniform stabilisation of solutions with decay rates characterised by the Neumann input. We supplement these results with numerical simulations in which the data do not necessarily satisfy the given assumptions for decay. These simulations provide, at a numerical level, insights into how energy could possibly change in the presence of, for example, improper data.

Reduced-dimensional modelling for nonlinear convection-dominated flow in cylindric domains

The aim of the paper is to construct and justify asymptotic approximations for solutions to quasilinear convection–diffusion problems with a predominance of nonlinear convective flow in a thin cylinder, where an inhomogeneous nonlinear Robin-type boundary condition involving convective and diffusive fluxes is imposed on the lateral surface. The limit problem for vanishing diffusion and the cylinder shrinking to an interval is a nonlinear first-order conservation law. For a time span that allows for a classical solution of this limit problem corresponding uniform pointwise and energy estimates are proven. They provide precise model error estimates with respect to the small parameter that controls the double viscosity-geometric limit. In addition, other problems with more higher Péclet numbers are also considered.

Tensor Network Space-Time Spectral Collocation Method for Time-Dependent Convection-Diffusion-Reaction Equations

Emerging tensor network techniques for solutions of partial differential equations (PDEs), known for their ability to break the curse of dimensionality, deliver new mathematical methods for ultra-fast numerical solutions of high-dimensional problems. Here, we introduce a Tensor Train (TT) Chebyshev spectral collocation method, in both space and time, for the solution of the time-dependent convection-diffusion-reaction (CDR) equation with inhomogeneous boundary conditions, in Cartesian geometry. Previous methods for numerical solution of time-dependent PDEs often used finite difference for time, and a spectral scheme for the spatial dimensions, which led to a slow linear convergence. Spectral collocation space-time methods show exponential convergence; however, for realistic problems they need to solve large four-dimensional systems. We overcome this difficulty by using a TT approach, as its complexity only grows linearly with the number of dimensions. We show that our TT space-time Chebyshev spectral collocation method converges exponentially, when the solution of the CDR is smooth, and demonstrate that it leads to a very high compression of linear operators from terabytes to kilobytes in TT-format, and a speedup of tens of thousands of times when compared to a full-grid space-time spectral method. These advantages allow us to obtain the solutions at much higher resolutions.

Wave-Current Interaction Effects on the OC4 DeepCwind Semi-Submersible Floating Offshore Wind Turbine

In order to investigate the hydrodynamic performances of semi-submersible type floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs), particularly the effect of body-wave-current interaction, the OC4 FOWT is considered in the presence of co-existing regular wave and uniform current fields. The wind loads are not considered at this stage. The problem is treated in the framework of potential-flow theory in the frequency domain, assuming waves of small steepness, and the solution is obtained by using a perturbation expansion method for the diffraction potential with respect to the normalized current speed. Analytical and numerical formulations have been used to treat the inhomogeneous free-surface boundary condition involved in the hydrodynamic problem formulation for the derivation of the associated perturbation potential. The hydrodynamic loads were obtained after evaluating the pressure field around the multi-body configuration using three different computer codes. The results from the three computer codes compare very well with each other and with the numerical predictions of other investigators. Finally, the mean second-order drift forces are calculated by superposing their zero-current values with the corresponding current-dependent first-order corrections, with the latter being evaluated using a ‘heuristic’ approach.

Solvability analysis for the Boussinesq model of heat transfer under the nonlinear Robin boundary condition for the temperature.

We consider the new boundary value problem for the generalized Boussinesq model of heat transfer under the inhomogeneous Dirichlet boundary condition for the velocity and under mixed boundary conditions for the temperature. It is assumed that the viscosity, thermal conductivity and buoyancy force in the model equations, as well as the heat exchange boundary coefficient, depend on the temperature. The mathematical apparatus for studying the inhomogeneous boundary value problem under study based on the variational method is being developed. Using this apparatus, we prove the main theorem on the global existence of a weak solution of the mentioned boundary value problem and establish sufficient conditions for the problem data ensuring the local uniqueness of the weak solution that has the additional property of smoothness with respect to temperature. This article is part of the theme issue 'Non-smooth variational problems with applications in mechanics'.

A Pressure Projection Scheme With Near‐Spectral Accuracy for Nonhydrostatic Flow in Domains With Open Boundaries

AbstractWe describe a pressure projection scheme for the simulation of incompressible flow in cubic domains with open boundaries based on fast Fourier transforms. The scheme is implemented in flow_solve, a numerical code designed for process studies of rotating, density‐stratified flow. The main algorithmic features of the open‐boundary code are the near‐spectral accuracy of the discrete differentiation and a dynamic two‐dimensional domain decomposition that scales efficiently to large numbers of processors. The simulated flows are not required to be periodic or to satisfy symmetry conditions at the open boundaries owing to the use of mixed series expansions combining cosine and singular Bernoulli polynomial basis functions. These expansions facilitate the imposition of inhomogeneous boundary conditions and allow the code to be used for offline, one‐way nesting within an arbitrarily embedded subdomain of a larger scale simulation. The projection scheme is designed to exploit a simple and powerful numerical engine: inversion of Poisson's equation with homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions using fast cosine transforms. Here, we describe the mathematical transformations used to accommodate the imposition of space‐ and time‐varying boundary conditions. The utility of the approach for process studies and for nesting within submesoscale‐resolving ocean models is demonstrated with simulations of wind‐driven near‐inertial waves in the upper ocean.

Consolidation and seepage solutions in enclosure space based on non-zero-constant values boundary.

Research is ongoing to find solutions to the problem of Consolidation and seepage in saturated clay in enclosure space. Firstly, the boundary of non-zero-constant values is established, considering the seepage boundary of the clay is affected by pumping water or lowering boundary pressure on the site. Secondly, the differential equation is established to reflect the spatial and temporal variations of excess pore water pressure dissipation in the clay in enclosure space, and the solution is derived using variable separation methods. Finally, based on results of the solution derived, contour maps of the water pressure are drawn corresponding with the different inhomogeneous boundary conditions.

DeHNSSo: The Delft Harmonic Navier-Stokes Solver for nonlinear stability problems with complex geometric features

A nonlinear Harmonic Navier-Stokes (HNS) framework is introduced for simulating instabilities in laminar spanwise-invariant shear layers, featuring sharp and smooth wall surface protuberances. While such cases play a critical role in the process of laminar-to-turbulent transition, classical stability theory analyses such as parabolized or local stability methods fail to provide (accurate) results, due to their underlying assumptions. The generalized incompressible Navier-Stokes (NS) equations are expanded in perturbed form, using a spanwise and temporal Fourier ansatz for flow perturbations. The resulting equations are discretized using spectral collocation in the wall-normal direction and finite-difference methods in the streamwise direction. The equations are then solved using a direct sparse-matrix solver. The nonlinear mode interaction terms are converged iteratively. The solution implementation makes use of a generalized domain transformation to account for geometrical smooth surface features, such as humps. No-slip conditions can be embedded in the interior domain to account for the presence of sharp surface features such as forward- or backward-facing steps. Common difficulties with Navier-Stokes solvers, such as the treatment of the outflow boundary and convergence of nonlinear terms, are considered in detail. The performance of the developed solver is evaluated against several cases of representative boundary layer instability growth, including linear and nonlinear growth of Tollmien-Schlichting waves in a Blasius boundary layer and stationary crossflow instabilities in a swept flat-plate boundary layer. The latter problem is also treated in the presence of a geometrical smooth hump and a sharp forward-facing step at the wall. HNS simulation results, such as perturbation amplitudes, growth rates, and shape functions, are compared to benchmark flow stability analysis methods such as Parabolized Stability Equations (PSE), Adaptive Harmonic Linearized Navier-Stokes (AHLNS), or Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS). Good agreement is observed in all cases. The HNS solver is subjected to a grid convergence study and a simple performance benchmark, namely memory usage and computational cost. The computational cost is found to be considerably lower than high-fidelity DNS at comparable grid resolutions. Program summaryProgram Title: DeHNSSoCPC Library link to program files:https://doi.org/10.17632/9bnms99kk2.1Developer's repository link:https://github.com/SvenWesterbeek/DeHNSSoLicensing provisions: GPLv3Programming language: MatlabSupplementary material: The supplementary material contains the code as well as a user manual.Nature of problem: Fluid flows are subject to laminar-to-turbulent transition following the growth of instabilities. To avoid computationally demanding Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS), perturbation theory is often applied to their analysis. However, classical stability methods based on the Orr-Sommerfeld equation or the Parabolized Stability Equations neglect the influence of streamwise gradients in varying degrees. The validity of these assumptions is difficult to estimate a priori.Solution method: The Delft Harmonic Navier-Stokes Solver (DeHNSSo) solves the harmonic Navier-Stokes equations nonlinearly on domains featuring sharp and smooth spanwise invariant surface features using a generalized grid approach in combination with an embedded boundary method. This allows the user to include the effects of streamwise gradients on flow at a fraction of the cost of DNS.Additional comments including restrictions and unusual features: In DeHNSSo, the equations are solved using direct matrix solvers. As such, memory is treated as a scarce resource. The problem is formulated in a mode-independent manner such that left-hand side matrices need only be computed and stored once despite incorporating nonlinear terms. Additionally, DeHNSSo offers the user the possibility to prescribe inhomogeneous boundary conditions to introduce and solve the receptivity problem or manipulate instabilities. Due to the double Fourier expansion, the solver is restricted to spanwise and temporally periodic problems.

In-flight anti-icing simulation of electrothermal ice protection systems with inhomogeneous thermal boundary condition

Conventional anti-icing computational solvers calculate the convective heat transfer coefficient using a homogeneous thermal boundary condition, assuming a constant temperature across the surface. However, this approach can lead to inaccuracies in regions with significant temperature variations. To address this limitation, the present study proposes a novel approach that utilizes an inhomogeneous thermal boundary condition, which updates the convective heat transfer coefficient based on the transient wall temperature distribution. We developed a unified finite volume framework that efficiently integrates various in-house solvers, including a compressible Navier-Stokes-Fourier (NSF) airflow solver, a Eulerian droplet impingement solver, a PDE-based ice solver, and a multilayer heat conduction solver. Thermal interaction between the different solvers was modeled using the conjugate heat transfer method. The effects of updating airflow on anti-icing results were investigated by comparing the results obtained by coupled and decoupled solvers. While the decoupled solver computes airflow once and remains unchanged, the coupled solver updates the airflow during the anti-icing simulation. Our findings show that the decoupled solver has the highest deviations from the coupled solver in evaporative anti-icing regimes, where dry regions form within the protection limits. Using coupled solvers in designing ice protection systems in evaporative regimes improves temperature prediction accuracy, enabling designers to reduce safety factors and save energy.

A numerical B-spline Galerkin method with proper generalized decomposition for reduced order modeling of partial differential equations

A numerical study is presented on reduced order modeling of low and high-dimensional partial differential equations using a new B-spline Galerkin proper generalized decomposition (PGD) method. Galerkin-PGD schemes based on B-splines are numerically investigated for various benchmark problems, including the Poisson equation, linear/nonlinear advection–diffusion equations, and the Navier–Stokes equations. The treatment of inhomogeneous boundary conditions, non-separable terms and nonlinearities is numerically investigated. Numerical errors for high-fidelity B-spline solutions and reduced order solutions are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed method. Computational costs are reported to illustrate the efficiency of the developed approaches.

On the Convergence of an Approximation Scheme of Fractional-Step Type, Associated to a Nonlinear Second-Order System with Coupled In-Homogeneous Dynamic Boundary Conditions

The paper concerns a nonlinear second-order system of coupled PDEs, having the principal part in divergence form and subject to in-homogeneous dynamic boundary conditions, for both θ(t,x) and φ(t,x). Two main topics are addressed here, as follows. First, under a certain hypothesis on the input data, f1, f2, w1, w2, α, ξ, θ0, α0, φ0, and ξ0, we prove the well-posedness of a solution θ,α,φ,ξ, which is θ(t,x),α(t,x)∈Wp1,2(Q)×Wp1,2(Σ), φ(t,x),ξ(t,x)∈Wν1,2(Q)×Wp1,2(Σ), ν=min{q,μ}. According to the new formulation of the problem, we extend the previous results, allowing the new mathematical model to be even more complete to describe the diversity of physical phenomena to which it can be applied: interface problems, image analysis, epidemics, etc. The main goal of the present paper is to develop an iterative scheme of fractional-step type in order to approximate the unique solution to the nonlinear second-order system. The convergence result is established for the new numerical method, and on the basis of this approach, a conceptual algorithm, alg-frac_sec-ord_u+varphi_dbc, is elaborated. The benefit brought by such a method consists of simplifying the computations so that the time required to approximate the solutions decreases significantly. Some conclusions are given as well as new research topics for the future.

The 3-D time-dependent Navier–Stokes equations on multi-connected domains with inhomogeneous boundary conditions and spectral hyperviscosity

We consider the time-dependent 3-D Navier–Stokes equations (NSE) on a multi-connected bounded domain Ω⊂R3\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\Omega \\subset \\mathbb {R^{\ extrm{3}}}$$\\end{document} with inhomogeneous boundary data β∈H1/2(Γ)\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\beta \\in H^{1/2}(\\Gamma )$$\\end{document} on ∂Ω=Γ\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\partial \\Omega =\\Gamma $$\\end{document}, where Γ\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\Gamma $$\\end{document} is a union of Lipschitz continuous surfaces Γ0,Γ1,⋯,Γl\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\Gamma _{0},\\Gamma _{1},\\dots ,\\Gamma _{l}$$\\end{document}. This assumption includes the particular case when the Γi\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\Gamma _{i}$$\\end{document} are disjoint, the stationary version of which is classically known as Leray’s problem. Existence results for Leray’s problem have either assumed flux conditions beyond the general flux condition necessitated by compatibility constraints, or required size restrictions on the data. Here we incorporate a spectral hyperviscosity term in the time-dependent case and obtain existence and foundational results, assuming only the general flux condition and without imposing size restrictions on the boundary data β\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\beta $$\\end{document}. For any such β∈H1/2(Γ)\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\beta \\in H^{1/2}(\\Gamma )$$\\end{document} we establish global existence and uniqueness of mild solutions. Then on any interval [0, T] on which these solutions and the corresponding NSE solution share a common H1\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$H^{1}$$\\end{document}-bound (as is present on local intervals of existence of strong solutions, in certain special cases, or as is commonly assumed in achieving strong convergence results in numerical studies) we show for slightly more regular β\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\beta $$\\end{document} that the spectrally-hyperviscous solutions converge strongly and uniformly in H1(Ω)\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$H^{1}(\\Omega )$$\\end{document} to the NSE solution as the spectral hyperviscosity term vanishes in the limit of key parameters. To achieve this robust sense of approximation of the NSE system, an involved setup and specially-adapted semigroup techniques assume essential roles, and the exposition is new for the case β=0\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\beta =0$$\\end{document} as well. Our final results adapt the NSE reformulation in Liu et al. (J Comput Phys 229(9):3428–3453, 2010) to recast our approximating system in a form potentially more adaptable to computation.

Global well-posedness and interior regularity of 2D Navier–Stokes equations with stochastic boundary conditions

The paper is devoted to the analysis of the global well-posedness and the interior regularity of the 2D Navier–Stokes equations with inhomogeneous stochastic boundary conditions. The noise, white in time and coloured in space, can be interpreted as the physical law describing the driving mechanism on the atmosphere–ocean interface, i.e. as a balance of the shear stress of the ocean and the horizontal wind force.

Inhomogeneous Boundary Value Problems for the Generalized Boussinesq Model of Mass Transfer

We consider boundary value problems for a nonlinear mass transfer model, which generalizes the classical Boussinesq approximation, under inhomogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions for the velocity and the substance’s concentration. It is assumed that the leading coefficients of viscosity and diffusion and the buoyancy force in the model equations depend on concentration. We develop a mathematical apparatus for studying the inhomogeneous boundary value problems under consideration. It is based on using a weak solution of the boundary value problem and on the construction of liftings of the inhomogeneous boundary data. They remove the inhomogeneity of the data and reduce initial problems to equivalent homogeneous boundary value problems. Based on this apparatus we will prove the theorem of the global existence of a weak solution to the boundary value problem under study and establish important properties of the solution. In particular, we will prove the validity of the maximum principle for the substance’s concentration. We will also establish sufficient conditions for the problem data, ensuring the local uniqueness of weak solutions.

Port-Hamiltonian formulations of the incompressible Euler equations with a free surface

In this paper, we present port-Hamiltonian formulations of the incompressible Euler equations with a free surface governed by surface tension and gravity forces, modelling e.g. capillary and gravity waves and the evolution of droplets in air. Three sets of variables are considered, namely (v,Σ), (η,ϕ∂,Σ) and (ω,ϕ∂,Σ), with v the velocity, η the solenoidal velocity, ϕ∂ a potential, ω the vorticity, and Σ the free surface, resulting in the incompressible Euler equations in primitive variables and the vorticity equation. First, the Hamiltonian formulation for the incompressible Euler equations in a domain with a free surface combined with a fixed boundary surface with a homogeneous boundary condition will be derived in the proper Sobolev spaces of differential forms. Next, these results will be extended to port-Hamiltonian formulations allowing inhomogeneous boundary conditions and a non-zero energy flow through the boundaries. Our main results are the construction and proof of Dirac structures in suitable Sobolev spaces of differential forms for each variable set, which provides the core of any port-Hamiltonian formulation. Finally, it is proven that the state dependent Dirac structures are related to Poisson brackets that are linear, skew-symmetric and satisfy the Jacobi identity.

Exact internal controllability and exact internal synchronization for a kind of first order hyperbolic system

In this paper we investigate the exact controllability and exact synchronization in L2 space for a 1-D first order linear hyperbolic system with internal controls located on some part of the domain. Based on the exact boundary controllability theory, we first use the constructive method to establish the exact controllability by internal controls for a time reversible system with inhomogeneous boundary conditions. The method is then adapted to prove the exact internal null controllability for a general system with homogeneous boundary conditions. These results can be then used to establish the exact internal synchronization for the system, and related subjects are further studied.

The dynamical property of a nonlinear shallow water wave equation with inhomogeneous boundary conditions

A nonlinear shallow water wave equation containing the Fornberg–Whitham model is considered. The phase portrait analytical technique is employed to establish the existence of the smooth, peaked and cusped solitary wave solutions of the equation under inhomogeneous boundary conditions. Asymptotic and numerical analysis illustrates the dynamical features for the smooth, peaked and cusped solitary wave solutions. Our results are helpful to further understand the dynamical tendency of the solutions when the space variable tends to positive or negative infinite.

SOLUTION OF A MIXED BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEM FOR THE LAPLACE EQUATION BY THE METHOD OF DIVIDING AN OBJECT IN A RECTANGULAR PARALLELEPIPED

The aim of the study is to solve the boundary value problem for the Laplace equation in a rectangular parallelepiped by the method of separation of variables and to estimate the obtained Fourier variable separation constants.
 
 Materials and methods. Methods of mathematical physics were used to solve the boundary value problem for the Laplace equation. The initial problem was divided into three standard ones, in which the inhomogeneous boundary conditions were given only on two parallel sides, for the rest of the problem they being assumed to be equal to 0.
 
 Results. The boundary value problem for the Laplace equation in a rectangular parallelepiped has been broken down into three problems. Partial solutions to these problems under given boundary conditions have been obtained. The Fourier variable separation constants are estimated.
 
 Findings. The solution to the Laplace’s equation for a parallelepiped is the sum of the solutions to three partial problems. The boundary functions of a parallelepiped are odd periodic over two variable functions whose periods are equal to the lengths of the corresponding sides of the parallelepiped. The Fourier constants of partial solutions to the problem are the coefficients of the expansion of the boundary periodic functions of two variables into a trigonometric Fourier series. In two-dimensional series of the solution to the Laplace’s equation for odd-numbered harmonics and for a set of simultaneously even and odd harmonics, the Fourier constants differ only in signs.

Smoothed particle hydrodynamics modelling of particle-size segregation in granular flows

In this work, smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) is employed to investigate the segregation evolution in granular flows. We first provide the Lagrangian description-based governing equations, including the linear momentum conservation and the segregation–diffusion equation. Then the hybrid continuum surface reaction scheme is introduced to formulate the concentration-related inhomogeneous Neumann boundary condition on the free and wall surfaces. We follow a two-stage strategy to advance boundary particle searching and normal direction identification. Moreover, $C^1$ consistency is considered based on the Taylor series to obtain accurate segregation flux gradient along the boundary. Our SPH model is validated with a shear box experiment. The model is then applied to investigate the segregation mechanism in bidisperse-sized granular flows in a rotating drum.

A topology optimization method for problems with design-dependent loads based on non-uniform rational basis spline entities

In this paper, topology optimization (TO) problems of structures subjected to design-dependent loads are formulated in the context of a special density-based TO approach wherein a Non Uniform Rational Basis Spline (NURBS) hyper-surface is used to represent the topological descriptor. Unlike classical density-based TO approaches, the NURBS-density-based method allows representing the pseudo-density field through a purely geometric computer-aided design compatible entity. In this context, the problem is formulated in the most general case of inhomogeneous Neumann-Dirichlet boundary conditions. Moreover, a thorough study of the penalty function of the design-dependent loads is carried out to investigate its effect on the optimized topologies and overcome the singularity effect related to the zones characterized by low values of the pseudo-density field. Finally, a wide campaign of sensitivity analyses is conducted to investigate the influence of the integer parameters of the NURBS entity, of the combination of design-depedent loads and inhomogeneous Neumann-Dirichlet boundary conditions, and of the concentrated load on the optimized topology. The effectiveness of the approach is tested on 2D and 3D benchmark problems.